partying with the seahawks. what is that all about? what is that all about? >> bret: that is it for this "special report," fair, balanced and unafraid. we are going to continue that libya discussion online. "special report" online starts right now. >> this is the fox report. tonight, the nfl and those locked out referees trying to hammer out a deal. new information on progress. could they really be back this weekend? plus, the president of iran, well, he is talking again and he says the cause of all of the world's problems is the united states. >> there is no doubt that the world is in need of a new orderly. -- order. >> ahmadinejad took the podium here in new york and said america's days at the top are numbered. [chanting] >> protesters told him to take a hike.

plus, campaign showdown in the must-win state of ohio. >> the path i'm offering may be harder but it leads to a better place. >> i know what to do and i will do what it takes to get this economy going. >> shepard: president obama and governor romney each back in the buckeye state with just days to go until the first votes are cast. and ♪ ♪ moon river ♪ wider than a mile. >> shepard: tonight, saying good by to the legendary crooner andy williams. first from fox this wednesday night the president of iran is back in the country he says the united states is in cahoots with the devil and israelis are uncivillized. now the world is reacting to mahmoud ahmadinejad's latest anti-west rhetoric today at the united nations. the president of ahmadinejad took the podium at the u.n.

general assembly and while his speech was not as fiery as some of those in the past, he still did say his vision of the world's future does not include the united states or israel. listen. >> the koran -- situation of the world better incident of history humanely iran's management of the world and the self-proclaim sensors of power who have entrusted themselves to the devil. >> shepard: just yesterday the iranian president called israel a fake regime that needs to be eliminated. outside the u.n., thousands of protesters rallied against the iranian regime and many jews voiced anger that ahmadinejad spoke at the u.n. on yom kippur, the holiest day on the jewish calendar. among them benjamin netanyahu who will address the general ablem-eye assembly tomorrow. on yom kippur eve sacred to the jewish people tyrant chose

to call publicly -- those who chose to remain in the auditorium and hear those hateful words. "the fox report's" correspondent jonathan hunt is with at the united states tonight. his attack on israel. >> yeah, president ahmadinejad's remarks today were rambling and bizarre for the most part. rather than pointed and inflammatory. but when there was venom. that venom was reserved largely for israel. he said the israeli government once again was fake and he said israel's threats against iran and its nuclear facilities were the result of what he called arrogant imperialism. listen to this. >> continued threat by the uncivillized zionist to resort to military action against our great nation is a clear example of this bitter reality tomorrow, of course, we will hear from israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu

who will no doubt use president ahmadinejad's words to emphasize why israel sees nuclear iran as imminent rather than a future threat. shep? >> shepard: ahmadinejad, wasn't the only one to take a shot at israel today? >> no, he wasn't. egyptian president mohammed morsi the new islamist president of that country also weighed in criticizing israel for what the president called occupation clonization and settlement. he also said the most urgent issue to be faced in the middle east is the civil war in syria. and he he said the world must act to end that war immediately. listen. >> after this regime, the current regime comes to an end, the regime that kills its people day and night, after this regime comes to an end, the syrian people will choose with their own free will a

regime that -- and places syria in right place among democratic countries. >> president morsey also made reference to that anti-islamic movie that helped spark riots among much of the muslim world saying there must be limits on free speech. that, of course, a direct contradiction of the message president obama gay the u.n. just -- gave the u.n. just yesterday. shep. >> shepard: jonathan hunt at the united nations. thank you. joint base andrews outside d.c. what you see here is the president of iran's plane a boeing 747 see the iran air there it's parked at the military base while ahmadinejad is here in new york. a spokesman at andrews tells us the parking is free and there is no extra security. same for all heads of state. reporters traveling with president obama on air force 1 report they actually taxied right past that iranian jet on the way to campaign stops

today in ohio. and governor mitt romney was in that same state today. both campaigns trying to win over votes with just six weeks to go until election day and ohio is crucial. no republic has ever won the presidency without taking ohio. and today both candidates came out swinging. >> i don't believe we can get very far with leaders who write off half the nation as a bunch of victims who never take responsibility for their own lives. [cheers] and i have got to tell you as i travel around ohio and as i look out on this crowd i don't see a lot of victims. i see hard-working ohioans. >> talk is cheap. you can be extraordinarily eloquent and describe all the wonderful things you can do but when you cut through the words you can look at the record. when you see k. see policies that have not created the jobs america needs, then you know it's time to choose a new leader, get a new coach, get america growing again.

>> shepard: look at this, a new poll from quinnipiac university, cbs news and the "new york times" give president obama a 10 point lead in ohio. well outside the margin of error. and ohio starts early voting less than a week from now. here's how both candidates crisscrossed the state today. we have team fox coverage of the campaign ed henry traveling with the president in kent, ohio. outside of akron. carl cammeron with the romney camp in toledo. still disputing many of these recent polls, right? >> as we said last night. they believe that so many of the public polls skew to democrats because the sample of democrats is more than what they believe is representative of the actual electorate on election day november 6th. and today romney camp was making the argument they have also been grossly outspent. president obama's campaign has been putting much much more money on the air. advertising will soon even up and that they say will close the polls as well, shep. >> shepard: what is governor romney attempting to turn things around in ohio they do acknowledge they are not winning there. >> sure. they recognize there is a big challenge ahead of them.

to that end the last couple of days, they have made him available much more aggressively. six or seven network interviews in the last several days there will be a lot more of that we're told. mr. romney getting much more raucous response from the crowd. rhetoric amped up. much more aggressive at president obama. essentially sort of a preview of what will be his closing argument in the last 40 days. here is a sampling. >> his plan for america, did you hear it at his convention? did you hear all the new ideas? >> no. >> yeah, there weren't any. there weren't any. it's the status quo. it's what he has been saying for the past four years. his campaign slogan is forward. forward with the same ideas, the same approaches he has had for the last four years. nothing is going to change. >> and mr. romney has shown a little bit more of a comfort zone as he has amped up his rhetoric. basically the shorthand is we can't afford another four years like the last four years and a choice in mr. romney's view between what he calls the

again he den is i society as put forth by the obama agenda or his own self-sufficiency and individuality liberty and freedom. they recognize it's a steep uphill climb. is he running from behind and realizes he has a lot of catching up to do. >> carl cammeron in toledo. president obama made his -- ed henry our chief white house correspondent live in kent ohio today where the president had a rally. we talked about these polls that have just come out, ed. to this question, who is better on the economy? president obama gets the nod in ohio. >> that is what is is amazing because the economy was supposed to be his sort of achilles heel. if you look at the unemployment here in the state of ohio is just over 7%. almost a full point lower than the national average. look at that "new york times" cbs news poll you were talking been 00 question of who would better handle the economy, the president actually comes in at 51% among ohio voters in the poll. 45% say mitt romney. so the president has the edge

on the economy. even though this was supposed to be mitt romney's strength. if you would have asked us a year ago, even six months ago the race in ohio is going to come down to the economy. most people would have bet that would be bad for the president. right now it's looking not so bad after all, shep. >> shepard: debates sometimes change people's minds. the first presidential debate a week from today. what do we know about how the president is preparing? >> well, we are learning some new information. the president on sunday is going to go to nevada for a couple of nights. and is he going to do some debate prep. john kerry we already knew would be the person who is going to stand in as mitt romney in the mock sessions we are told. they have already had a few of those sessions in washington. now they will be taking it no nevada because it's close to colorado. battleground state. they are trying to lower expectations in the white house by saying look the president hasn't debated since john mccain four years ago while mitt romney had a couple dozen debates in those republic primaries earlier this year. the other thing going on you said the debate is a week from tonight. two days later we will get the

september jobs report. so the economy going to remain front and center, shep. >> shepard: ed henry live, kent, ohio tonight. thanks. the romney camp also arguing that president obama himself has not called the recent assault on the u.s. consulate in benghazi, libya an act of terrorism. that attack killed four americans including the u.s. ambassador to libya. and now house republicans are turning up the pressure on the president to clear up the facts on what happened there. plus, andy williams has died. but he left behind decades of memorable television specials and hit songs. tonight, remembering that easy-going all-american singer. ♪ a shadow of your smile when you are gone. ♪

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♪ i can't get use to losing you ♪ no matter what i do

live my whole life through ♪ loving you. >> shepard: president reagan once described that voice as a national treasure. tonight it's fallen silent as singer andy williams has died. television viewers may remember williams from his 1960's variety show where but it was on the radio where he made a name for himself. he recorded hits moan river and hits from love story earning 18 gold records and three platinum hits. trace gallagher is in our los angeles newsroom this afternoon with a life of an incredible crooner. hello, trace. >> hey, shep, andy williams was once touted he could perform so well for so many years and his answer was that maybe two hours on stage was medicine that everyone should take. well, for him it was a magic eliberationer, this was his 75th year in show biz. >> he began singing with his older brothers. by the time he was 9, they had

songs on the radio. a few years after that the brothers left the act. andy struck out on his own. at first struggling, then getting a job on a new program called tonight, starring steve allen. >> the talented young fellow that you are about to meet now by the name of andy williams. >> that led to a record deal and his own show on nbc. [ laughter ] >> the show was a mix of music and comedy, old acts and new. like some brothers that andy discovered from utah named the osmonds ♪ happy holidays happy holidays. >> the andy williams show ran for 90 years. the andy williams christmas specials ran for 30. >> my mother and father were on and brothers were on and we sang. it was a wonderful, wonderful show. >> williams was friends with everyone from elvis to bobby kennedy. a few years ago andy williams told sean hannity that bobby kennedy once asked him to be a

delegate. >> i can't do this for you. he said why not the? i said because i'm a republic. >> in 1992 he took his theme song and his act to branson, missouri, opening the moan river theater moan river theater. he often said the theme from love story is his favorite song. but it's not the song to which he will be forever linked ♪ moon ♪ moon river wider than ♪ i'm crossing you in style. >> this was on stage in branson, missouri last year that he announced he had bladder cancer. at the time he said it was no longer a death sentence though he stopped taking treatment in late july. and he passed away last night. but you have got to believe, shep, that he will be back some time around christmas. >> shepard: i bet he will. trace gallagher. good stuff. thanks a lot. a new string of apparent cyber attacks today on some of the

biggest banks in our nation. and one theory about the suspected culprit is a bit of a surprise to many. plus, we have all seen the play that the replacement refs absolutely blew on monday night. now the league is handing down, i don't know, some big fines. not on the officials. no. on the coaches. hang on. does your phone give you all day battery life ?

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>> the nfl and its real referees may be close to a deal which could allow the regulars to return to the field, thank god this weekend. according to reports from both sides that they negotiated through the night. try to resolve a labor dispute over pay and benefits it sounded like something might happen today. espn reports an agreement in principle is at hand and the

"new york times" says both sides are closing in. but the nfl is not talking. they declined to confirm to fox news that a tentative contract is eminent. just that talks are proceeding. so all of this just a couple of days after that controversial call cost the packers a win on monday night in front of a national television audience. there is word the real refs could be back sunday. and the nfl is reportedly not ruling out having them work tomorrow night's game between the cleveland browns and the baltimore ravens. though probably the browns would need an act of god. at any rate, meantime the nfl is punishing two more coaches for how they dealt with a replacement ref. the league belichick 50,000 fine for grabbing a ref. shallahan abuse of officials. >> three u.s. banks had troubles getting into their accounts online today in apparent string of cyber

attacks. wells fargo. u.s. bank corps and pnc. these attacks after similar issues last week at bank of america and chase. none of those banks has explained the source of the problems. they won't be specific. security experts say they bear the hall marks of attacks by hackers. ech edson is with us from d.c. what do we know, rich. >> bank corps says their site has experienced unusual and high coordinated traffic volumes designed to slow down the system similar to what other banks have experienced in the last week. hackers reportedly said this week they would target that bank wells fargo and pnc and all three confirmed problems with their web sites, mostly trouble logging on or slow service. the banks say their customer's information is secure, shep. >> shepard: one lawmaker said last week, rich, that iran might be behind all of. this chairman joe lieberman of the senate homeland security committee says he thinks it's iran. iran reportedly denies it. though reuters report iranian

hackers have attacked american banks over the past year as part of a broad cyber campaign. the unknown hackers complaining responsibility for these attacks reportedly say they are in response to insults to mohammed in that video sweeping the middle east. though some analyst claim the hackers have simply using that video as a diversion. shep? >> shepard: rich edson in d.c. thanks. we are six weeks away from election day. but as we reported, some voters are already casting ballots and more states are about to start early voting. we will tell you what the analyst say that could mean for the candidates. plus, there is word those new voter i.d. laws could make for a long election night. or even week. why we may have to wait a while to learn the winner. and flame throwing protesters hit our 401(k)'s. new violence over europe's big money mess is hurting markets here at home. that's coming up as we approach the bottom of the

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more dishwasher brands in north america recommend cascade. >> fewer americans bought homes last month. those who did are willing to pay more for them. new home sales were down slightly in august. look at this, the median price of each sale was up more than 11%. we're told that's the biggest gain on record. of course, it wasn't enough for wall street where analysts say traders are worried about continuing problems in europe.

stocks fell as a result. the dow off 44. the nasdaq 24. the s&p 5008. the problems in europe led to violence in greece. that tops our world in 80 seconds. greece: police say 50,000 people joined a march in athens to protest budget cuts. riot cops used tear gas and pepper spray against hundreds of protesters out parliament. demonstrators set fire to trees and buildings to rally part of an antigovernment strike that closed schools and delayed flights. india, officials say several people are dead and more than a dozen hurt after a train plowed into a passenger bus in an eastern province. that bus reportedly carrying college students at the time of the crash. locals angry about the wreck reportedly set fire to part of a train. italy. surveillance drones inspecting

earthquake damage in the northeast help uncover a marijuana farm. police say the images revealed more than 100 plants and irrigation system and lighting equipment in the woods. cops say they recovered seven tons of pot. australia, folks at a breeding facility say they are raising dozens of baby taz mainian devils to protect the species from extension. the animals are fighting a deadly disease on native island. they plan to release the little devils back in the wilds in tasmania after it runs its course and that's a wrap on this fox trip around the world in 80 seconds. >> shepard: i'm shepard smith. this is the fox report. it's the bottom of the hour. time for the fox top story. early voting is about to get underway in a couple of crucial battleground states. starts tomorrow in iowa and next week in ohio. as we have reported, president

obama and governor romney are both campaigning in ohio today. and with early voting an option in dozen of states this year many americans could cast their ballots before the presidential debates even begin. shannon bream is live in washington tonight. what's the thinking about who stands to gain from this early voting, shannon? >> well, shepard, the president dominated in early voting in 2000 2008. it wasn't even close. political experts like michael mcdonald who is a professor at george mason thinks it's going to be a whole lot closer this time around in 2012. >> republicans are more enthused than in 2008. so that's -- there will be motivation among republicans to vote. plus, we have a romney campaign that's investing in early voting much more so than the mccain campaign did in 2008. >> by the way, in the last presidential election, some 400,000 early mail-in ballots were thrown out. mostly for is he simple mistakes things like postage and forgetting to sign it mail-in ballots do tend to

skew more toward g.o.p. voters. shep? >> shepard: first debate a week from tonight. what about the debates. >> folks out there casting early ballots call them high information voters. they have been watching the campaigns. they know where the candidates stand on the issues that are most important to them. they are ready to lock in even before those debates. some are still on the bubble. and since every vote will be especially valuable in a race this tight, the candidates have to treat every day like election day. >> since a significant number are now voting, the fact of the matter is you have got to be a message all the time. that's whether i are republic or democrat or independent. >> experts do think about 35% of all ballots for this year's presidential race will be cast before election day. shep? >> shepard: that's a lot. shannon bream, thank you. if the presidential election is a close one, the experts say it could take days to determine who actually won. they say new voter i.d. law also likely mean more people casting provisional ballots which officials say they need to verify.

and that takes some time. some analysts are comparing the potential complications to that florida recount back in the year 2000 when it took weeks to sort everything out. 15 states now have passed new or stricter voter i.d. laws since 2008. the experts say we could see more provisional ballots than usual. supporters say the law also help prevent fraud. critics claim the changes will differentiate legitimate -- i should say disenfranchise legitimate voters less likely to have photo identification. among them, minorities, the poor and the elderly, the justice department blocked the new laws in texas and south carolina. legal battles continue even now in the battleground states of wisconsin and pennsylvania just six weeks ahead of the big election. corpght leaders say concerns over the so-called fiscal cliff are keeping them from bringing on new employees. according to the survey by the business round table. fewer than 1/3 of executives say they plan continue to crease hiring in the sex six months. that's down from more than 50% last year. we're set to go over the

fiscal cliff if you will at the end of this year. when the bush era tax cuts expire and automatic spending cuts are set to take effect. economists are warning that combination could cause another recession, unless congress comes to the rescue. some occupy protesters are set to receive $30,000 each. that's the proposed settlement after a cop soaks them in pepper spray. you may remember. this it happened at the university of california davis last fall. the height of occupy wall street. witnesses say that cop calmly sprayed students' faces with the burning chemical all the while while the protesters sat there peasfully. the proposed settlement with the protesters almost $1 million. president obama does in fact view the deadly dispute -- consulate attack in libya as an act of terrorism. since the assault that killed the u.s. ambassador to libya, the president has not taken that position himself, at least not publicly, governor

mitt romney and others have questioned why it's taken so long. today a romney campaign spokesman said this is now the second time the white house press secretary has said something that president obama has declined to admitted. it if the president thinks the tragic events in libya were acts of terrorism, he said he should say so himself. catherine herridge live in washington tonight. catherine, secretary of state hillary clinton now says it was al qaeda. >> well, that's right. in addition to branding the attack in benghazi as terrorism, at the u.n. today secretary of state clinton acknowledging the suspected involvement of al qaeda's north africa affiliate known as aqim. >> they are working with other violent extremists to undermine the democratic transitions underway in north africa as we tragically saw in benghazi. >> this is the same group we told you about last friday. the evidence points to a joint operation between the al qaeda affiliate in north africa and an sar al sharia both want to establish islamic state in ort

africa. >> shepard: republicans are piling on now. >> they are. within the last hour senators mccain and graham releasing this statement attacking what they describe as the president's lack of candor on the benghazi attack. quote: we recognize that al qaeda involvement in a terrorist attack that killed four americans in libya is an inconvenient truth for a president who claims to be destroying al qaeda. but it is not too much to ask why the president and his administration have taken so long to state what has appeared obvious for a long time about what really happened in benghazi on september 11th 2012. this is now the fourth statement or letter in the last 24 hours from republics on the hill the administration's initial claim this was spun out of control -- >> syrian rebel fighters are taking credit now for two big explosions that left a government military command center in flames subordinated

press reporting twin bombs sparked bullet battles between regime troops and rebels. battles that killed at least five people. including a reporter for iranian tv. appearing temperature video here as usual we can't independently verify it or this one from syrian state tv which reports this is surveillance video of the attack. look here, the explosion is about to happen. shows a white van exploding outside a military compound then a second blast inside the complex. the syrian government blames the attacks on terrorists. the regime's term for rebel fighters. according to the syrian on or about tore for human rights. the death toll from the civil war has now reached 30,000. the activist group reports nearly two thirds of those deaths came during the past six months and the death toll includes more than 7300 government soldiers. it's not every day you see somebody walking down the street holding what looks like a rocket launcher, is it? apparently this dressed up character was just pretending to be a terrorist and the

whole thing was supposed to be some sort of test for the cops. it did not go as planned. plus, with childhood obesity on the rise, congress voted to cut calories in school lunches. students are complaining. coming up. how some of them have found a creative way to get their point across. ♪ tonight ♪ we are hungry ♪ set the policy on fire ♪ it can burn brighter ♪ than the sun ♪

>> shepard: well it turns out staging a terrorist hoax can land you in trouble. recorded a video in which his teenage nephew posed as a terrorist dressed up in weird garb holding what looked like a rocket propelled grenade. the kid in the costume is a 16-year-old and the weapon is a fake. so-called film maker says he shot the video just eight days after that movie massacre in

colorado and that did he it to see how quickly the cops would react to a teen posing as terrorist with a weapon. >> as we approached, our actor made himself appear as threatening as possible. yet, somehow he seemed to go unnoticed. our actor paced the crosswalk to draw as much attention as possible. >> shepard: what is he in a toga light blue at that? >> he claims a police officer arrived 15 minutes later. of course the cops say they arrested this film maker on suspicion of knowingly giving a false impression of a terrorist act. endangerment and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. felonies. police say they are also recommending charges against the 16-year-old nephew turned actor. a growing debate over new lunch menus at schools across the country. federal calorie limits just don't give students enough food. especially athletes and very active students who burn thousands of calories playing sports. first lady michelle obama helped promote new guidelines to cut down on childhood

obesity. some republic lawmakers say they want to repeal those relations regulations and calorie limits in school. some students agree. witness a group of high schoolers in kansas who created a video which is making the rounds online. you should see it. ♪ we are hungry ♪ set the policy on fire ♪ it can burn brighter ♪ than the sun ♪ kansas education officials say portion sizes in most school districts have not changed and students can actually get more food because they now have more options. mike tobin is in our chicago newsroom. it's not new for kids to be complaining about lunches. but how many calories? >> well, they are complaining all right. the calories are now capped for high school students at 850. you compare that to the old guidelines that put the minimum at 825. so, as you mentioned.

could you the protest. west known protest comes from wallace county high school in sharon springs, kansas. that is because of that video that you mentioned. it's kind of funny. actually. it shows students keeping on the drama and collapsing from malnourishment. our own dr. manny took a look at that and the whole situation. as long as there has been high school lunches there have been students who have a beef with them. >> i think that the expression is teaching them a lesson about the importance of food and what it means for their lives. you know, i think that, you know, you have got to take it by individual case. and i think parents should get involved. if a child feels hungry at school, then a discussion has to be made and, you know, good healthy choices can be introduced also. >> now the school district says students which include students -- student athletes have the options of heaping as many fruits and veggies on their plate as they like. also have the option of buying

more food, shep? >> shepard: you know, one thing is for sure here. the problem of obesity is a real one. >> you know, it has gotten so severe that one organization calling itself mission readiness has labeled the problem a national security threat. now, that's a bit of a stretch but they make the argument because 75% of our young people are unfit to serve in the military. now, of that 75%, 1/3 of them are in that category because they are too fat. how fat? on average, shep, 30 pounds overweight. >> shepard: mike tobin live in chicago. thanks a the lo. an ambulance crash kills one emergency worker and juries another. and it tops our news across america. >> north carolina. police say a tractor-trailer collided with that ambulance. flipping on its side. then the 18-wheeler veered off the road. cops say one emergency worker died. the driver of the ambulance reportedly okay though.

officials say they are investigating the cause of the crash. missouri. a woman found a boa constrictor under her car in kansas city. >> i saw its tail going up over the rear wind chill. and -- rear well. i could see it was a spotted snake. >> animal control workers sprayed the snake with water and managed to pull it free. no word on where it came from. arizona. a former police officer paralyzed from the chest down is back on the golf course for the first time in seven years. cops say a drug suspect shot the detective in the line of duty. a foundation that helps injured officers got him a special cart called a solo rider. >> it maneuvers over and then the neatest thing is it pretty much stands you up. >> shepard: he says he may not win but is he happy to be golfing again with his friends. that's a fox watch across america. >> we're just learning a young justin bieber fan known by her friends and families as

mrs. bieber has died of brain cancer. doctors say the 6-year-old had a rare and fast growing tumor. she captured the hearts of people all over the nation after her family launched a campaign to help her meet the pop star. her wish did come true. in fact, she got to meet bieber more than once. today the girl's family announced her death on twitter. then bieber himself tweeted and i quote: just got the worse news ever. one of the greatest spirits i have ever known is gone. please pray for her family and for her. well, a group in california is doing its part to help send some basic supplies to soldiers on the front lines. we'll tell you what troops say they need the most besides guns and ammo. plus, that new smart phone is really cool but it's not cheap. new numbers show some families are having to cut back just to stay connected. the costs are staggering. and that's next. so let's talk about coverage. based on this chart, who would you choose ? wow.

you guys take a minute. verizon, hands down. i'm going to show you guys another chart. pretty obvious. i don't think color matters. pretty obvious. what's pretty obvious about it ? that verizon has the coverage. verizon. verizon. we're going to go to another chart. it doesn't really matter how you present it. it doesn't matter how you present it. verizon. more 4g lte coverage thaall other networks combined.

>> providing a lifeline to our men and swim serving overseas. it's called troops direct. the founder says he donations to ship huge amounts of basic items to soldiers. soap and clothes and stuff for dogs. the workers have shipped more than 27,000 pounds of supplies in the last two years. how does this nonprofit get troops what they need. shepard the owner who one runs it. pretty sweet deal with the postal service to deliver needed supplies in a matter of days. civilian himself got the idea after a buddy of his in the marines told him that individual care packages aren't always enough and that often the entire unit needs sun block, boot loose laces and other things that might be

on back order or not in the pentagon's budget. now emails are pouring in, mostly from the middle east where more than anything else service members say they need chalk powder to mark roadside bombs. one of the biggest killers of american troops. and because like all the other items. the chalk is being donated, it doesn't cost the troops or the taxpayers a dime. shep? >> claudia cowan. will they send anything to troops? are there limits? >> well, there are they won't send weapons or ammunition. most anything else is good to go so long as they can find it and pack it up. >> i can't think of any real reasonable requests that we have not been able to fill. whether it's eye protection or boots or medical supplies or even stuff as simple as the basic nutrition service members require. >> indeed we saw palates of energy bars and gatorade mix ready to ship out. does what it can to have such

goods on hand but appreciates the additional support from civilian groups. if you would like to help out visit troops direct.org. shepard? >> if it feels like your cell phone is a money pit, you may be on to something. labor department reporting now that spending on phone service has jumped more than 4 hers last year. fastest rate in seven years. according to report not guilty "wall street journal." using multiple smart phones in a family costs families thousands of dollars a year. and some are now cutting back on other stuff like, i don't know, food and clothing. the parent company of fox news channel owns the journal which is also reporting wireless carriers may offer faster service and new data plans to try to make those bills even bigger. >> the reality series featuring a 7-year-old pageant queen who says a dollar makes me holler is set to stick around for the holidays. >> i want to win the biggest trophy with a lot of money. >> today folks at tlc

announced the network has ordered halloween, thanksgiving and christmas specials of here comes honey boo boo. the show follows the girl's family in rural georgia. it has plenty of critics. still it's a hit and tlc has ordered more episodes for this spring. we reported last night that madonna made a controversial comment about president obama in washington. now she is trying to explain. that's next on "the fox report." ♪ you do ♪ something to me ♪ that nobody else could do

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♪ my life begins today ♪ ♪ fly by night away from here ♪ ♪ change my life again ♪ ♪ fly by night, goodbye my dear ♪ ♪ my ship isn't coming ♪ and i just can't pretend oww! ♪ [ male announcer ] careful, you're no longer invisible in a midsize sedan. the volkswagen passat. the 2012 motor trend car of the year. that's the power of german engineering. >> shepard: madonna claims she was being ironic when she incorrectly called president obama a muslim during a concert. we reported here last night that madonna gave the explicative laced endorsement of the president. >> you all better vote for [bleep] obama, okay? [cheers] [inaudible] we have a black muslim in the white house. >> of course the president is a christian. madonna released a statement,

quote: i was being ironic on stage. yes, i know obama is not a muslim though i know that plenty of people in this country think he is. and what if he were? donations have been pouring in for a sick dog that appeared in photograph that went viral last month. you may have seen this picture. it shows a man lulling to sleep his 19-year-old dog in the waters of lake superior. the water apparently sooths the dog's arthritis. folks started sending in money to pay for medical treatment. the owner has started a nonprofit foundation to help more animals in need. before we go our team's top five things of the day. number five engineers say the washington monument will likely be closed until 2014. while they fix the cracks from last year's earthquake. number four, the fed reports 400 new cases of west nile virus just last week. number three, fans are mourning the death of singer andy williams at age 84. number two, the nfl and the real referees are reportedly

closing in on a keel to get them back on the field. and number one, the iranian president, your friend mahmoud ahmadinejad blasted america and israel in what was probably his last appearance at the united nations and that's the top five. daniel boone died on the american frontier. his story made him a legend. daniel boone spent long days as a child exploring the wilderness of pennsylvania and north carolina: before long he got the itch to head west in his 30's he and a team of explorers blazed a trail across the cumberland gap in kentucky making it easier to cross the mountains. land dispute caused daniel boone to pack up and leave again by then he was 65 years old. they eventually settled in what's now missouri. daniel boone died some two decades later at his son's home. a frontier's men bidding